Category: Government

Fed Officials Still Divided, Unsure About When and How Much To Cut Interest Rates

By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Federal Reserve officials have continued this week to muse about cutting interest rates for the first time since December when the Fed’s rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee meets in mid- September, but the FOMC remains divided and unsure. Despite an uptick in inflation, labor market worries have come to […]

US TARIFFS STATE OF PLAY: New Reciprocal Tariffs Don’t Dispel Uncertainty, Confusion 

–Trump Fires Head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics because of alleged manipulation By Denny Gulino  WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – With new reciprocal levies raising America’s average tariff rate to above 18% and the latest jobs and ISM reports raising stagflation fears, the overall era of uncertainty seems to have intensified, not diminished.  The environment of […]

US TARIFFS STATE OF PLAY – List of countries and their “reciprocal” tariff rates imposed at midnight (Switzerland 39%; UK 10%)

WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – Countries and Territories Reciprocal Tariff, Adjusted Afghanistan 15%Algeria 30%Angola 15%Bangladesh 20%Bolivia 15%Bosnia and Herzegovina 30%Botswana 15%Brazil 10%Brunei 25%Cambodia 19%Cameroon 15%Chad 15%Costa Rica 15%Côte d`Ivoire 15%Democratic Republic of the Congo 15%Ecuador 15%Equatorial Guinea 15%European Union: Goods with Column 1 Duty Rate1 > 15% 0%European Union: Goods with Column 1 Duty Rate < 15% […]

TRANSCRIPT: Fed’s Powell Stays Away From Promises of a September Rate Cut

.WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The following is a rough transcript of Wednesday afternoon’s post-FOMC meeting news conference with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell: Despite elevated uncertainty, the economy is in a solid position. The unemployment rate remains low and the labor market is at or near maximum employment. Inflation has been running somewhat above our 2% […]

Japan Weekahead: PM Ishiba’s Fate Up in the Air After His Minority Government Suffers Setback in Upper House Election; BOJ to Stand Pat as Trade Rows Cloud Growth Outlook

–June Industrial Output Seen Flat, Retail Sales Sluggish, Setting Soft Tone for Q2 GDP Due August 15–June Jobless Rate to Remain Low and Stable at 2.5%, Job Creation Continues for Nearly 3 Years amid Labor Shortages By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Here are the key Japanese economic and political events for the coming week. Prime […]

Report: Japan PM Ishiba to Step Down by end-August to Take the Blame for Historic Election Loss; Ishiba Stresses US Trade Accord Mutually Beneficial

–Mainichi Exclusive: Resignation May Come Sooner Amid Calls from Within Ruling Party, Opposition Camp By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has decided to step down by the end of August after leading the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to a historic defeat in Sunday’s Upper House election, the Mainichi Shimbun daily reported […]

Japan’s Ruling Coalition Loses Majority in Upper House After Last Year’s Loss in Lower Chamber Election; PM Ishiba Leadership in Question amid Voter Ire Over Inflation, Political Scandals

By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s ruling coalition failed to clinch a majority in Sunday’s upper house elections, as widely expected, amid voter frustration over rising costs of living and a string of political funding scandals, just nine months after it lost a majority in the more powerful lower chamber of parliament. It is the […]

Japan Weekahead: Ruling Coalition May Lose in Upper House Election; Tokyo CPI to Show Further Easing but Inflation Seen Still around 3% Amid High Processed Food Prices

By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Here are the key Japanese economic and political events for the coming week. – Sunday, July 20 Voting and vote counting for the House of Councillors general elections. Opinion polls show the ruling coalition led by the conservative Liberal Democratic Party may lose a majority in the upper house, which […]